Month: March 2018

I know it isn’t New Year’s, but this is the time of year when I think a new year begins. Apparently this was quite common in the past, with March 25 being celebrated as the start of the new year in England and America right up until 1752. And so, that makes today (the second day of the former new year) the perfect day to consider reviewing the past year. It also happens to be my birthday, which simply validates my review even more. Let’s look at several areas of my life and see what kind of progress I have made. Continue reading “My year in review”

Today’s post is a guest post by my daughter Caitlin. She is so wise that I often wonder that she came from me. I am so privileged to be able to share some of her wisdom with you today. To get the trackers that she designed, click here.

Life can be difficult to manage. We have so many obligations from day to day, week to week, month to month – it all seems endless. On top of these obligations (work, college, childcare, friends, family, health) we all have personal habits we’re trying to cultivate and goals we’re trying to meet. These come in all shapes and sizes and range from simple things like keeping the house clean or decluttering the pantry to larger goals like publishing that book, opening your own business, or meditating daily.

No matter how big or small, meeting goals (or building good habits) involve the same basic steps – organizing a plan and following through. The same is true of personal, professional, or health related goals. We need to have a plan to know exactly where we’re going and how we’re going to get there and then we need to follow through with that plan.

If you grew up in an Abrahamic culture, you’ve probably heard the story of Jonah. Basically, God said, “Jonah, go to Nineveh and talk to them.” Jonah didn’t like that idea, so he tried to run away to Tarshish on a ship. God said, “Uh, Jonah, you’re going the wrong way. Nineveh is over there.” Jonah said, “La la la! I’m not listening!” God said, “Fine, I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way. Mr. Fish, please escort Jonah to Nineveh.” And the Fish swallowed him, spit him up on the shore, and Jonah finally took his butt to Nineveh. I am starting to really relate to poor Jonah.

The other morning I was cruel to my beloved 6-year-old. It was stupid, it was unnecessary, and I was completely in the wrong. When she got home, I apologized to her, and she, being the sweet, loving child that she is, immediately forgave me. It was another reminder that I am not yet where I want to be in relation to my children, nor am I parenting from a reality of abundance. So what exactly happened?